Pruinosed Bloodtail (Lathrecista asiatica asiatica)

A dragonfly of lowlands and mid hills. Often found in coastal areas. Uncommon. Females are similar to males (Shown above) but have yellowish green strips on mid dorsal area of the body. 

Blue dawn glory (Ipomoea indica)

Native vine of tropical America, introduced and later on naturalized in disturbed sites of villages and towns particularly of wet zone and hills. Very common and flowering during August to November.

Barn Swallow/Atu Wahilihiniya (Hirunda rustica)

Barn swallow is a very common winter visitor of all zones of the island, arriving at the beginning of the North-East monsoons and stay till end of April.  It has a very fast flight and much of its time while in Sri Lanka spends on the wing capturing small flying insects. They are very gregarious and often found as flocks of 10-30 or more birds perching on telegraph wires. There is a famous night time ‘roosting street’ in Rathnapra town of this bird consisting of thousands of birds during migration season.  

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

කන කොකා [Kana Koka]/Indian Pond Heron ( Ardeola grayii)

Very common bird usually found in paddy fields throughout the island. It also lives close to tanks, lagoons and marshlands. Eventhough it is solitary in habit during day time feedings , flocks can be seen flying to its night time communal roosting trees at dusk. Breeding season is from December to May and nests can be observed in regular heronries sometime with other species of herons, cormorants.

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Black-crowned night heron/ රෑ කොකා/රෑ කණ කොකා [Raa Koka/Raa Kana Koka] (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Common resident bird of marshes, mangroves, rivers, tanks and lagoons of low country both wet and dry zone and foot hills.  Nocturnal in habit and spending the day time roosting communally in trees.  Its food consists mainly of fish, frogs and some water insects.

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus)

Blue Daze is an ornamental plant introduced from tropical America and now widely cultivate in hill country gardens. Flowering probably throughout the year. 

Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)

Coppersmith Barbet is a very common bird of forests and gardens of low country dry zone and lower hills. However occasional sightings of it in some wet zone areas are recorded and scattered colonies are reported from places like Kandy and Avissawella (A Guide to the bird of Sri Lanka – G.M. Henry 3^rd Edition).  It has a very unique note a slow wonk, wonk, wonk….like a hammer on a copper pan. Hence the name Coppersmith barbet. Its breeding season is from November to May and again from July to Sepetember. Lay 2-3 dull white eggs in a hole cut in a dead branch of a tree or an upright post.  It keeps solitary or in pairs and parties of few birds. Food mainly consist of berries and occasionally insects like moths and plying termites. 

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >> 

White-tipped Spreadwing (Lestes elatus)

Terrence de Fonseka wrote in 2000(The Dragonflies of Sri Lanka – WHT publications) “Apart from recorded locations nothings is known about this species in Sri Lanka”. Aluthnuwara, Kandy Mankulam Pundaluoya, Puttalam, Ramboda Trincomalee and Marichchkkaddi are mentioned as recorded locations.  However it is a locally common damselfly of low lands both in dry and wet zones and lower hills (Dragonflies of Sri Lanka – Gehan’s photo guide and personal observations)

වරා[Wara] (Calotropis gigantea)

Wara is a common tree/shrub of disturbed vegetations (Common around paddy fields and tanks) in dry and arid zones of low country.  Flowering all the year round. It is an indigenous plant of Sri Lanka and found also in several other south Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Maldives. Also in Malaysia and China. Milky juice extracted from this tree is used as a remedy for Leprosy.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

Common Sandpiper is a common winter visitor to Sri Lanka from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, arrives in August to September in large numbers and departs in April and May.  During that season it can be found almost everywhere of country where rock and water exist together.  It is usually encountered as a solitary bird or a flock of scattered few feeding on tiny mollusks, insects and crustaceans while bobbing is tail up and down continually.

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Angled Castor (Ariadne ariadne minorata)

Angled Castor is a common butterfly found all over the island in all the year round, though becoming scarce above 1200m. It is abundant in degraded vegetations. Its larval host plant is Thel Edaru (Ricinus communis), a plant which is widely cultivated to extract Castor oil. Hence the vernacular English name for this butterfly. However in Sri Lanka only three Tragia (කහඹිලියා) species are identified as its larval host plants (Tragia plukenetii, Tragia involucrata(Indian Stinging Nettle) - both Known as වැල් කහඹිලියා in Sinhala  and Tragia hispida)

. 

අසෝක/දියරතඹල[Ashoka/Diyarathabala](Saraca Asoca)

An indigenous tree of about 9m tall found in low country forests, basically in dry zone and also cultivated in home gardens as an ornamental plant. 

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida)

Very common migrant and summer loiter to low country coastal areas. But sometimes ascend up to lower hills. During migrate season most low country tanks, paddy fields and such marshy areas abound with this tern. It flies low over water bodies, bill pointed downward in search of its food which consist mainly of aquatic insects, small fish and tadpoles and when tired rest on near by paddy field bund, fence posts or like places. 

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Whimbrel is an uncommon migrant bird to low country, especially to dry zone coastal areas. It arrives in Sri Lanka in September - October and return back in April to North Europe and western Asia for breeding. Marshes, mudflats and lagoons are its favorite habitats in its stay in Sri Lanka during winter months of Northern hemisphere. In such places it feed mainly on crabs, mollusks and worms, usually singly or sometimes as small parties of 4 -5 birds. 

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Leaf-nosed Lizard/දුම්බර අංකටුස්සා[Dumbara Ankatussa](Ceratophora tennentii)

An endemic lizard of Sri Lanka confines to the knuckles range.  It is a diurnal and slow moving lizard of natural forests, cardamom plantations and also adjoining home gardens at elevations of 760 – 1220m in knuckles range.

Pied Kingfisher/ගෝමර පිළිහුඩුවා[Gomara pilihuduwa] (Ceryle rudis)

Pied kingfisher is a resident bird usually found in marshes, lagoons, mangroves, slow flowing rivers and tanks of low country. It is common in coastal areas.  It feeds mainly on fish and other aquatic animals catch by hovering over the water surface and suddenly plunging into prey and emerge with it a moment later. It lives in pairs and breeds during March – May in a burrow dig into the bank of a river. 

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)

Native herb of Mexico and introduced to Sri Lanka and several other countries of Southeast Asia, Southern Europe and also India. Common weed of roadsides and tea plantations of hill country. Flowering throughout the year. White flowers change to purplish when fading. Earliest record of introducing this herb comes from Peradeniya botanical garden in 1926 and it is said that wide spread was due to deliberate introduction of it as a mat forming herb on soil of drain sides and step banks of tea estates as a prevention measure of soil erosion. .

මයිනා [Myna]/Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

Very common breeding resident of all zones up to 1700m. It lives in gardens, cultivations, and grass lands but not in dense forests, usually associated with cattle and buffalos and feed on ticks which infest on them and insects mainly grasshoppers which are disturbed by their feet while they graze. Hence the name Gon Kawadiya use by Sinhalese people for this bird. It appears to pair for life. But sometime flocks with considerable numbers are formed in out of breeding season. Also roost in night in thousands at a selected place usually few trees sometime in city centers or patches of shrub in marsh land. Breeding season start in March and last till August or September. A nest is a hole in a tree with mass of sticks, straws and feathers.

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

Red-striped Threadtail (Elattoneura tenax)

An endemic damselfly of submontane primary rainforests and near by less disturbed areas. It is usually encountered close to fast running streams. 

පින්න මල්[Pinna Mal]/Chinese glory-bower (Clerodendrum chinense/phillippinum)

Origin of this plant believes to be occurred in China though now wide spread in tropical Asia, Africa and tropical America. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and escapees are become weeds in shrub jungles and such habitats. It is a small shrub and flowers blooms during April to May and again in August to September.